Projectile



K. DUUGAN. PROJECTILE. APPLICATION FILED Aus. I. 1918.

K. DOUGAN.

PROJECTILE. APPLICATION FILED Auw. 191s.

l 28,683 v Patendept. Z, 1922,.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept. 12, 1922.A

` Y KENNEDY noUGAN, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

. IPROJECTILE.

. Application inea august i, 191s. serial No. 247,860.

To all fwwm'r't may concern:

Be it known that I, KENNEDY DOUGAN, a citizeniof the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in` thecounty of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota,have invented certain new and usefullmprovments inFrojectiles, of .which4 the'following is a specification.

Myv invention relates tov steering the projectile, and theobject'isltoprovide a projectile that will travel point foremost whenfired from` a smooth boregun, or from one which gives but slight angularvelocity to the projectile as compared to that of a conventionalprojectile;

My invention consists, iirst, in'placing in the center of the projectileand in alignment with its horizontal axis, a plurality of telescopiiigcylinders, which when the projectile leaves the gun, slide back one uponthe other-and in the projectile, forming a long light cylinder,extending back yfrom the base of the projectile andin alignment withits horizontal axis; second, in means for moving the` telescopingcylinder backward into active or steering p.os1tion,.and, third, meansv. forliring the projectile from a gun having a bore of the samedianieteras the projectile, or from'agun having a bore larger than theprojectile. y a v Referring to the Y drawings:

Fig. 1 .is a. central longitudinal section throughwa fragment of thegun, projectile, head, and telescoping cylinders, a small portion of theprojectileybeing shown in full lines.

Fig. 2 is a view of the head looking toward. the left. Fig. 3 is anexterior view of the projectile with some of the parts shown in section.

VFig. 41 shows fragmentallyr an enlarged view of` an annular groove inhead 3 and a spring in said groove, a cross-section of said spring beingshown by Fig. 5, and a view at right angles to Fig. 5 by Fig. .6.

Fig. 7` shows aforni of head adapted for use when tlievprojectile is tobe thrown from a gun havingabore the vsame diameter as that of theprojectile.

Fig. 8 shows a central longitudinal sec tion through a fragmentv of theprojectile and through the telescoping cylinders. In

this view the proportion of length to diameter is disregarded.

vFig. 9 is a view of the projectile as it would appear in flight.

Fig. 10 is a fragmental cross-section of a niediinied form of thetelescoping tubes.

. Fig. 11 is a fragmental view of a portion of cylinders 25 and 27.

Fig. 12 shows a conventional projectile adapted -to befired from aconventional gun, and having a single perforate hollow cylinder rigidlysecured to its base.

F 18 shows a similar projectile having a solid tapering extensionrigidly secured in its base and provided with an enlargement on itssmall end.

Fig. 14 shows a similar projectile having a hollow perforate extensionrigidly secured to its base. l

Fig. 15 shows va similar projectile proyidedvwith a single telescopingcylinder having a head upon which the air acts to drive said cylinderinto 'active position.

Fig. 16 shows a projectile, and a portion of a head adapted to drive itfrom a gun having a bore of greater diameter than that ofthe projectile,the gun being rifled to gave a comparatively slight rotary motion to theprojectile, Fig. 17 Vbeing a modihed form of a similar projectile, Fig.18 being a detached view of a part yin the head, and Fig. 19 a front endview of the telescoping cylinder.

AFig. 20 shows a modified forinof a .sub.

element extends back through the detach-y able head and is rigidlysecured to the projectile. e Referring to Fig. 1: y 1 is a fragment ofthel gun; 2 is the provjectile which is carried by head 3 in the mannershown; said -head 3 fills the bore of the gun and is provided with anexterior annular groove 4 to receive a conventional copper ring, notshown. v

The exterior of a portion of'head 3 vis recessed as shown, forming twoannular spaces 5 and 6 between said head and said gun barrel. 7 are websconnecting annulus 8 with annulus 9 and are formed integral therewith.10 are a series of circular openings formed in webs 7 with the object ofreducing their weight and permitting the free liow of the gasestherethrough in order to equalize the pressure. 11 are similar openingsfor a similar purpose in webs 12.

13 are circular openings through the annu-V lar portion 14 of head 3,and lead into annular space 5, the object of course being to equalizethe gas pressure on both sides of annulus 14. 13 are similar openings inannulus 9.

For the purpose of rotating the projectile after it will have lett thevgun and before it will have been given rotary motion by the other meansprovided, there are -ormed therein a plurality of spiral grooves 15 intowhich extend projections 1G formed integral with annulus 8. Then the gunis fired the greater air pressure on head 3 after leaving the gun, inproportion to weight, will cause it to slow up faster than theprojectile which will cause said head to rotate in onel direction andthe projectile in the opposite direction. After the separation ofprojectile from head the action of the air on one of the radial sides ofeach groove15, will tend to rotate the projectile, and in order that thehorizontal axis of the projectile may not be thrown out of alignmentwith its true course its front end is provided with wings 17 of suchdimensions and set at such angle as to keep the projectile in its truecourse. The required angle and dimensions of wings 17 can only bedetermined by experiment. 18 is a chamber for carrying the explosivecharge; 19 is a metal cylinder fitting tightly in the front and rearportion of the projectile. 2O is a cylinder formed of thin properlytempered steel, just thick enough to safely withstand atmosphericpressure, as when in flight there will be a vacuum in said tube. 20l isa head formed integral with cylinder 20 and has formed therein anopening 21, the function of which is to prevent the Jformation of avacuum between said head and the `front end of the projectile when saidcylinder 20 is drawn out. 22 is an annulus which screws into the base ofprojectile 2 as clearly shown in 8.

"When cylinder 2O is caused. to move rearwardly, the outwardly extendingportion 23 on said cylinder is stopped and held by the inwardlyextending portion 24 of annulus 22. Tn like manner cylinder 25 is heldbythe inwardly extending portion 26 of cylinder 20, and cylinder 27 by theinwardly extending portion 28 of cylinder 25.

For the purpose oit' drawing cylinders 20, 5 and 27 out into steeringposition, cylinder Q 2 extends out beyond the base of the pr0- vjectionand has formed thereon and integral therewith an enlarged cylindricalshaped open ended head 29 which lits snugly into a cylinder 30 formed inhead 3. 31 is an annular groove formed in head 3, and is provided with aspring 32 of the form shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. This spring is made insections in order to get it into groove 31 and its innerl Side is formedslightly convex as shown in Fig. 5. This ring grips end 29 of cylinder27 with sufiicient force to draw cylinders 20, 25 and 27 into theirextreme outward position but not with sufficient force to preventI head3 from sliding from head 29 when suiiicient force is applied.

Vhen the form of head shown in Fig. 7 is used, it is obvious that theair pressure would not draw the cylinders 20, 25 and 27 out intoposition. For the purpose of forcing cylinder 20 into its extremeoutward position there is formed in the front end of the projectile anair conduit 33, and head 2O1 is imperfora-te. Air entering throughconduit 33 acts on head 201 and drives cylinder 20 to its outerposition; air then acts on head 4 and draws cylinders 25 and 27 out intoplace, and when their further outward movement is checked by the meansshown and described, head 4 is forced off of enlargement 29 byv thepressure of the air. There is no special provision made for the escapeof air from the annular spaces formed between the various cylinders 19,20, 25 and 27, as they will be an easy sliding fit one upon the otheradmitting the escape of air so as to prevent objectionable air pressurein the annular spaces formed between them, but in order that saidcylinders may not be checked too abruptly, the external diameter of thelast mentionedthree cylinders is enlarged near their front ends and theinternal diameter of two of them reduced near their rear ends so as tomake them a snug sliding fit and thus form an air cushion adapted tocheck them slowly; this is shown in Fig. 11 on a magnified scale, 28abeing an internal enlargement and 26a an external enlargement.

The pressure of the air upon the beveled portion of head 29 togetherwith the friction of the air upon cylinders 20,l 25 and 27 will keep acontinuous pull on the rear end of the projectile and help to preventtumbling. Reliance, however, is placed mainly upon the relative airresistance in proportion to weight between the projectile and cylinders.It would appear that could the cylinders be made strong enough and lightenough to stand the strain, that were the projectile, with thecylindersextended, fired with its longitudinal axis at right angles tothe line of Hight, it would instantly assume a position with itslongitudinal axis in alignment with the. line of flight.

Referring to Fig. 11: l

vWhen in the outer movement of cylinder 27, ange 26 reaches the portion28aM of cylinder 25, and the enlarged portion 26a of -said cylinder 27enters flange 28 of cylinder 25 the entrapped air forms acushion,stopping cylinder' 27 gradually.

Referring to Fig. 12:

34 is a short cylinder formed on the rear of projectile 2. 35 is ahollow' perfora-te cylinder rigidly secured to said cylinder 34. Theperforations in said cylinder 35 near the projectile may be of anydesired form, the object of said perforations being to admit of thepassage of the gases to prevent excessive pressure on said cylinder 35when the gun is fired. The perforations near the rear end of saidcylinder 35 may be shaped so as to impart rotary motion to said cylinder. Y

Fig. 13 shows a form of the invention more especially adapted to gunsusing fixed ammunition. 37 is a short cylinder'formed on the rear end ofthe projectile. tapering rod, circular in its cross section, rigidlysecured in the rear end of the 'projectile; 39 is an enlarged hollowhead rigidly secured to said rodv 38 or formed integral therewith. 40 isa powder-carrying cylinder of the same external diameter as theprojectile and secured to cylinder 37 in the usual way. This is ofcourse not a sub-caliber projectile.

Fig. 14 shows a slightly different form of the invention in which ahollow perforate cylinder 41 is rigidly secured to a short cylinder42formed on the base of the projectile. 43 is a cylinder rigidly securedin cylinder 41 and 44 a smaller cylinder secured rigidly in cylinder 43.y45 is an enlargement on the end of cylinder 44.

Referring to Fig 15:

46 is an annulus which is screwed into the rear end of the projectile;47 is a head fitting snugly into annulus 46; 48 a thin disk of somefrangible vmaterial which is secured to annulus 46 by paste or glue; 49are a series of openings through cylinder 20; when the projectile isfired, air passes through opening 33 and acting on head 20 of cylinder20, drives said cylinder against head 47 with such forcefas to breakdisk 48, allowing said cylinder 2O to moveout until `flange 23 thereonstrikes annulus 46. When cylinder 20 is moving outward the air in theannular space between said cylinder and projectile passes into theinterior' of said cylinder 20 through openings 49, but when saidopenings have passed beyond the inner end of annulus 46 the remainingair is trapped between flange 23 and said annulus 46, checking themotion of cylinder 2O I`gradually. This is not a sub-caliber projectile.The object of head 47 is to prevent gases from entering cylinder 20 andbursting'it. Annulus 46 is necessary to assembling. The object ofcylinder 2O is to reduce the amount of angular velocity necessary toprevent the tumbling of the projectile. v l

Referring to F ig.' 16: i

1n this form of the invention there are no projections extending intogrooves in the projectile as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Head 3 is providedwith a copperv ring, not shown, and is to be fired from a rilied gun,the rifles having but slight twist as compared with those ofconventional guns. When the gun is fired the pressure between head 3 andthe base of the projectile will prevent slip between said head andprojectile when the rifles have the proper twist and this will impartthe same rotary motion to both head and projectile; the telescopingcylinders may be either perforate or imperferate. Head 29 -is screwedinto cylinder 25 as shown, and there is no friction ring holding saidhead in cylinder 30. Air entering through conduit 33 presses on head 29forcing the cylinders 25 and 27 out into steering position. The exteriorof the-projectile may have formed therein orsecured thereto any of therotary devices hereinbefore described or described in any of my formerapplications.

Fig. 17 shows a form of the projectile in which the openings in bothends of the projectile are closed by the initial explosion of thebursting charge carried in annular space 50. 51 is a head ofthe formshown, screwed into the noseof the projectile. 1n the inner portion ofthis head are formed a series of air passages 52. (See Fig. 18.) lVhenthe explosion occurs portion 53 of said head is driven outwardly makinga hermetically sealed joint between shoulder 54 and surface 56 of head51. The passages 52 so weaken the support of portion 53 that only aslight pressure is required to break said support. Head -57 of cylinder2O will of course be at the base of the projectile when the explosion ofthe burstingv charge takes' place. The explosion will break thesupport'of head 58 and forcing it against head 57 close conduit 59 thus`preventing the escape of gas. 52 are air passages formed inportion 5Sof head 57 and register with air passages 52a. l/Vhen the projectileleaves the gun, air at high pressure enters space 61 through conduit 62and passing through passages 5 2 and 52a, and space 59, pass throughconduit and enter cylinder 25 filling it with air at nearly the pressureyof the entering air. The ol ject of having air pressure in cylinder 25is to'prevent its collapsing from exterior pressure that would arisethrough leakage into the annular space surrounding` said cylinder.Cylinders 2O and 25 may be perforate or imperforate. This projectile isgiven rotary motion in a manner similar to that described in F ig. 16.

F ig. 2O showsa form of the invention differing slightly from that shownin Fig. l. The only difference being that cylinder 2O extends outthrough the front end of the projectile though head 3 is not shown. Thisform. gives a longer extension with the same number of cylinders. Whenthe cylinders are back in steering position the front end of cylinder 2Oforms, in combination with the front end of the projectile, asymmetric-al head on said projectile.

The operation has been explained in connection with the description. Itappears obvious that any of the extensions shown and described willassist in preventing tumbling of the projectile and will permit itsbeing iired with very much less rotary motion that the conventionalprojectile, and this will insure longer life for the gun and increasedrange. It also appears obvious that the gyroscopic eect will not begreat enough to prevent the projectile from travelling head on.

I claim:

l. A projectile, provided with a plurality of spiral grooves in itsperiphery extending from the base of said projectile forward, a head oflarger diameter than said projectile detachably secured thereto andseparable therefrom by the greater respective air pressure exertedthereon in proportion to their weights when travelling through the air,said head being provided with projections adapted to move in said spiralgrooves, a cylinder formed axially in said projectile having its rearend open, a cylinder telescopically mounted in said first namedcylinder, means for moving said second named cylinder rearwardly out ofsaid first named cylinder, and means for limiting the outward movementof said second named cylinder.

2. A projectile, a circular head of larger diameter than said projectiledetachably secured thereto and separable therefrom by the greaterrespective air pressure exerted thereon in proportion to their weightswhen travelling rapidly through the air, a cylinder formed axially insaid projectile having its rear end open, a cylinder telescopicallymounted in said first named cylinder, means for moving said second namedcylinder rearwardly out of said first named cylinder, and means forlimiting the outward movement of said second named cylinder.

3. A project-ile, a circular head of larger diameter than that of saidprojectile detachably secured to said projectile and separable therefromby the greater respective air pressure exerted thereon in proportion totheir weights when travelling rapidly through the air, a cylinder formedaxially in said projectile having its rear end open, a plurality ofcylinders telescopically mounted in said first mentioned cylinder, meansfor moving said second named cylinders rearwardly out of said firstnamed cylinder and out of each other, and means for limiting the outwardmovements of said second named cylinder.

4t. A projectile, a circular head of larger diameter than saidprojectile detachably secured thereto 'and separable therefrom by thegreater respective air pressure exerted thereon in proportion to theirweights when travelling rapidly through the air, a cylinder formedaxially in said projectile having its rear end open, a cylinderVtelescopically mounted in said first named cylinder, means for limitingthe outward movement of said second named cylinder, a head oi' greaterdiameter than that of said second named cylinder rigidly secured to orformed integral with the rear end of said cylinder, a cylinder formed inthe front side of the aforementioned first named head, having its frontend open and adapted to receive said second mentioned head, and meansfor flexibly holding said second mentioned head in said cylinder in saidfirst mentioned head, said means being adapted to draw said secondmentioned cylinder rearwardly out of said rst mentioned cylinder whenprojectile and said head separate, and to release said second named headwhen sufiicient force is applied.

5. A projectile, a circular head of larger diameter than said projectiledetachably secured thereto and separable therefrom by the greaterrespective air pressure exerted thereon in proportion to their weightswhen travelling rapidly through the air, a cylinder formed axially insaid projectile having its rear end open, a plurality of cylinderstelescopically mounted in said first named cylinder, means for limitingthe outward movement of said second named cylinders, a head havinggreater diameter than that of the smallest of said pluralityv ofcylinders rigidly secured to or formed integral with the rear end ofsaid smallest cylinder, a cylinder formed in the front side of theaforementioned first named head having its front end open and adapted toreceive said second named head, and means for flexibly holding saidsecond mentioned head in said cylinder in said first mentioned head,said means being adapted to draw said plurality of cylinders out of saidfirst mentioned cylinder when said head moves slower than saidprojectile. l

6. A projectile, a circular head of larger diameter than that of saidprojectile detachably secured to said projectile and separable therefromby the greater respective air pressure exerted thereon in proportion totheir weights when travelling rapidly through the air, a cylinder formedaxially in said projectile having its rear end open,

a. plurality of cylinders telescopically ends of said rst named cylinderby the inimounted in said lrst mentioned cylinder, tial explosion insaid projectile. means for moving said second named cylin- August l,1918. 10 ders rearwardly out of said first named oyl- In testimonywhereof I `hereby affix my 5 inder and out of each other, means forlimtsignature.

ing the outward movements of said second named cylinder, and means forclosing both KENNEDY DOUGAN.

